A RJBrA Esso D s


VOL. 8, No. 1 PUBLISHED BY THE LAGO OIL & TRANSPORT CO. LTD. JANUARY 17, 1946


'-C


Caribbean Commission
Sees Plant in Aruba Trip

Members of the Caribbean Commis-
sion visited the refinery last month in
the course of an inspection trip to Aruba.
The group met in Curagao December 15,
and included Aruba in its side-trips to
see the Netherlands West Indies.
The Commission is an advisory body
with members from the Netherlands,
United States, Great Britain, and
France, the chief powers with interests
in the Caribbean. Their stated purpose is
to promote cooperation between these
powers for the improvement of social
and economic welfare in the area.
Their program includes a customs
union which would abolish or fix very
low import duties; the establishment of
industries in the islands; and studying
social conditions in the West Indies.
Their immediate aim will be to increase
the population's earnings through fishe-
ries, tourist business, trade, and home
industry.

Professors Visit Apprentices

Early this month Professors I. D.
Dresden of Delft and P. J. Goudrian of
Hilversum visited the refinery as part of
a survey they are making of the Curagao
Territory's economic status. The plan,
backed by Netherlands and Curagao
government and by business interests, is
to find means of furthering the economic
welfare of the territory. While here the
professors took a particular interest in
the apprentice training program, since
they regard educational advances as an
important part of Aruba's growth.



Aruba-U.S. Telephone Service
Starts with Xmas Greetings

Telephone calls to New York, Los
Angeles, or any other point in the United
States with long-distance connections
are now possible by wireless-telephone
service. The facilities, which had long
been delayed by wartime shortages of
essential equipment, were inaugurated a
few days before Christmas. Lt. Governor
L. C. Kwartsz held the first conversa-
tion, followed by Inspector of Taxes
A. Schutte. During the afternoon of the
jfyst day's operation General Manager
J. J. Horigan spoke with W. J. Haley in


.. 3(.


Lago Employees Receive Extra Million

And a Half FIs. in Thrift Plan Accounts


The refinery Christmas de-
corations that add to the
holiday spirit here have hard
work behind them. Shown at
left Is one of the toughest
jobs, putting the 10-feet
lighted star on the tip-top of
the Cat Plant, 22 stories up
and with no place around to
hang a block and tackle.
Holding the gin-pole is cor-
poral Sabino Ferres of the
Labor Department; others
on the job (some not visible)
were laborers Anastacio
Cuerra, Rafael Mendoza.
S Pedro Mujica, Luiz Teixeira,
and Luis Navarro, and elec-
tricians Tony Federle and
Vandyke Jacobs.







Adornonan di Pascu den
refineria cu ta aumenta at-
mosfera di e dianan di fiesta
aki ta resultadonan dl trabao
duro. Na bands robez nos ta
mira un di e trabaonan di
mas trabahosa, esta pa pone
e streak ilumini di 10 pia rl-
ba top di Cat Plant, 22 pisl
halto y sin ningun lugar cu
Pan por pone un catrol pa
por hisa e streak facitmente.
Esun cu ta tene e palo ta
S Sabino Ferres di Labor De-
partment; otronan cu a traha
ey riba (algun no a sali riba
e portret) ta Anastacio
Guerra, Rafael Mendoza,
S Pedro Mujica. Luiz Teixeira
y Luis Navarro. Encarga cu
iluminaci6n di e streak tabata
Tony Federle Vandyke
Jacobs.


These Ideas

PAID

In November C.Y.I. Awards

Juan Maduro, Fls. 15.00, install airline
manifold at northwest corner of Cir-
culating Pumphouse at No. 8 Rerun still.
Manohar Lall and Thomas Eastwood,
Fls. 15.00 each, install rear view mirrors
on three-wheel scooters.
Francis Guevara, Fls. 15.00, install a
bulletin board in the Storehouse office.
Mariano Garrido, Fls. 50.00, additional
support for pedestal of bulldozer cylin-
der.
Andrew Vanterpool, FIs. 15.00, install
handles on garbage cans.
Hendrik Chin, FIs. 35.00, install feed
meter in No. 12 Aviation debutanizer
overhead line to feed drum of the H.O.S.
& S. Plant.
Hacinto Ras, Fls. 15.00, improved
method of inserting thermometers in
cork.
Hermanos Euson, Fls. 15.00, relocate
gauge board of tank No. 205.
Alexander Gumbs, Fls. 20.00, install
21/2 gal. fire extinguishers on wooden
buildings at Colorado Point.
James Seymour, Fls. 25.00, install 1"
bypass with valve around 4" steam inlet
blockvalves to Nos. 1 & 2 stabilizer
reboilers.
Edgar Leysner, Fls. 15.00, install 11/2"
valve in airline to electric whistle at
No. 11 Crude still.
Michael Alexis, Fls. 20.00, protection
of A & B foam lines between Gasoline
and Utility Docks.
Miss Nydia Ecury, Fls. 25.00, run a
"Children's Page" in the Aruba Esso
News.
Ernest Tulloch, commendation, extend
fire sprinkler system to new additions to
Storehouse building.

the Company's New York office.
The service proved a boon to many
Lagoites who took opportunity to tele-
phone their families in the United States
during the Christmas holidays. Many re-
ported good connections, though atmos-
pheric conditions sometimes interfered.
Rates to the New York area were ap-
proximately Fls. 5 per minute, which was
regarded as a reasonable charge.
The new service is expected to be of
great assistance to both business inte-
rests and private individuals.


Empleadonan
Mill6n y Mei
Cuentanan di


di Lago Ta Ricibi
Florin Riba
Thrift Plan


An additional contribution of nearly a
million and a half guilders was granted
by the Lago Oil & Transport Company
and the Esso Transportation Company
December 24, to all employees in the
Thrift Plans and Provident Fund. This
is in addition to the amounts contributed
regularly by the companies to each par-
ticipant's thrift account, and is the
largest extra contribution made since
the plan began.
Over 6,000 employees benefitted by
the distribution of extra credits, includ-
ing both refinery and marine personnel
in the Thrift Plans and Marine Provident
Fund. Each participant's account is
credited with a fixed sum, plus a percen-
tage of the total amount he contributed
to the plans over the past year.
While these extra contributions are
not guaranteed in the provisions of the
plans, they have been made every year
in varying amounts for the past eight.
The majority of the employees
benefitted are in the Lago Thrift
Foundation, where 5,073 will receive
the extra credits. For this group (88
per cent of those eligible) the addi-
tional contribution amounts to a
credit of Fls 25 to each of their
accounts, plus 60 per cent of their
own contributions to the Plan be-
tween November 1, 1945 and October
31, 1946.
The Thrift Plans and Provident Fund
enable employees who participate to
save money regularly, not only for self-
support in later years, but (in the Thrift
Plans) as a cash reserve that can be bor-
rowed from at low interest in times of
emergency. A participant allots a per-
centage of his wages to the plans, and
the companies add a certain percentage
of his contribution. Not only do the plans
provide a means of saving regularly, but
the employees' savings are increased
substantially by the amounts added by
the Company.
Employees who are not yet taking
advantage of the Thrift Plan's oppor-
tunities can get full details about it at
the Personnel Department.


Windward Islands Group
Starts New Publication

A few days before Christmas the first
issue of "The Voice of the Windward
Islands" made its appearance. It is
the new bi-monthly publication of the
Netherlands Windward Islands Welfare
Association, which was founded here in
June, 1944 to promote the welfare of
Saba, St. Eustatiu-s and St. Marten.
The first issue of the paper contains
introductions to the society by Leon Bell
of Electrical, and to the paper by editor
E.M. Bell, sports and social news, and
reports from committees. These include
a building committee that is planning a
clubhouse and a ladies' unit that has
started a nursing class organized by
Lilian van den Arend and instructed by
Mrs. Kingbeil.

In an election of new officers for the
association January 8, Leopold Illidge,
one of the founders, was named presi-
dent. Claudius Elis of Electrical is the
new vice-president, Charles Wilson of
the Dining Hall is secretary, and Milton
Peters of the Boiler Shop was elected
treasurer. Ex-president Hillman was
elected legal advisor.

Gordon Ollivierre of Utilities, who
saw the Olympics in Barranquilla, was
back in Aruba for a few days last week.
With vacation lasting into February, he
went back to Colombia to spend a couple
of weeks in the mountains.


"Best in Show" prize on the Amateur Night
program at the Logo Club December 21 went to
Terry de Soua, for her song "If You Were the
Only Girl". She is shown receiving a wristwatch
from Leonard Bruce, secretary of the Lago Club
Committee. The second prize, a pen and pencil set,
went to Kelvin Joseph for his nfitation of a lady
preparing for bed. Henry Forte (King of Calypso)
was third with a clock for his two calypsos. A
special prize of a photo album was presented to
Frank Moll for his muscle control act. Peters
took the prize for boys, and B. oeerman went
away with the girls' prize. Oenial Jo Arrlas was
the popular master of ceremonies.


I I..N m


I I ---1


Dia 24 di December, Lago Oil & Trans-
port Company y Esso Transportation
Company a duna un contribuci6n adicio-
nal di casi mil6n y mei florin na tur em-
pleadonan cu ta den Thrift Plannan y
Provident Fund. Esaki ta ademas di e
sumanan cu e companianan ta contribui
regularmente na cuenta di thrift di cada
empleado, y esaki ta e contribuci6n extra
di mas grand desde cu e plan ta existi.
Mas di 6,000 empleado tabatin bene-
ficio di cr6ditonan extra, cu ta inclui
personal di refineria y marina cu ta par-
ticipa den Thrift Plannan y Marine Pro-
vident Fund. Cu.-nta di cada participate
ta word aumenta cu un suma fiho, mas
un percentage di e suma total di loque el
a contribui na e plan durante e anja cu,
a pasa.
Aunque e contribucionnan aki no ta
garantiza den condicionnan di e plannan,
toch cada anja na a tuma luga cu suma-
nan variable durante e ocho anjanan.

E mayoria di empleadonan cu tin bene-
ficio ta esnan cu ta den Lago Thrift
Foundation, pues ey tur 5,073 partici-
pantenan lo haya cr6dito extra. Pa e
grupo aki (88 por cientodi esnan eligibel
pa tuma part aden) e contribuci6n adi-
cional ta monta na un cr6dito di Fls. 25
riba cuenta di cada un, mas 60 por ciento
di loque nan mes a contribui na e Plan
entire November 1, 1945 pa October 31,
1946.

Thrift Plannan y Provident Fund ta
duna empleadonan cu ta participA opor-
tunidad pa spaar placa regularmente, no
solamente pa sostene nan mes despues
di tempo, pero tambe (den Thrift Plan-
nan) como un reserve, di cual por fia na
ora di emergencia, pagando un interest
masha abao. Un participate ta contri-
bui un percentage di su sueldo na e plan,
y e companianan ta pone acerca un cierto
percentage di su contribuci6n. No sola-
mente e plannan ta duna oportunidad pa
spaar regularmente, pero tambe loque-
empleadonan ta spaar ta aumenti sub-
stancialmente cu e sumanan cu Compania
ta pone acerca.
Empleadonan cu ainda no ta tuma
ventaha di oportunidadnan di Thrift
Plan por haya detayanan complete na
Personnel Department.








2 ARUBA SEES NEWS JANUARY 17, 1947


ARaBia N i;EW

PUBLISHED AT ARUBA, N.W.I. BY THE
LAGO OIL & TRANSPORT CO., LTD.

The next issue of the ARUBA ESSO NEWS will be distributed
Friday, February 7. All copy must reach the editor in
the Personnel building by Friday noon, January 31.
Telephone 523.

rintedl by The Curacao Courant, Curacao. N.W.I.




Employee- Management Safety

Efforts Have Results & Credit


NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL

AWARD


Lago Oil W Transport Company, Limited i
IARUM N W I
IN RECO NITrON OF ITS OSTYTANDING ACI [lHV1MINT
IN ILNC. THE FREQUENCY t DISA lN. INJURIES
GROUP A, MANUFACTURING DEPARTMENT
PETROLEUM SECTION SAFETY CONTEST
JULY 1. IW-JUNE 30. 1946






Credit where credit is due


Employees' efforts in working safely and reducing accidents
had recognition recently with the announcement of awards
in the National Safety Council's contest for July 1, 1945 to
June 30, 1946. The certificate above was awarded to the
refinery "in recognition of its outstanding achievement
in reducing the frequency of disabling injuries". It resulted
from a nearly one-third improvement in the frequency rate,
as well as a 52 per cent improvement in the severity rate.
In over-all safety performance Lago's employees were
seventh out of 16 in a related-size group of refineries, with
this refinery out-ranking domestic refineries of S.O. (N.J.)
in safe working. (This was a striking improvement over
last year's standing of fourteenth out of 16.)
At the same time awards announced in the Marine Section
Safety Contest brought top honors and framed certificates to
two Aruba groups: the Esso Transportation Company (Lake
Fleet)took first place in the Tankers Division, and Lago took
first place in the Stevedoring Division. Plans are being made
to display these plaques conveniently for the interest of those
who earned them. In each case their safety records were out-
standingly better than the average of the groups they were
competing with.


Esfuerzonan di empleadonan pa traha cu seguridad y pa
mengua accident a word reconoci recientemente cu anuncio
di certificadonan gana den e competitive di "National Safety
Council" cu a dura dia 1 di Juli, 1945 te Juni 30, 1946.
Frecuencia di accidentenan a mengua na un tercera part di
loque e tabata y gravedad di e accidentenan a mengua 52 por
ciento di loque e tabata. Aki riba nos por mira e certificado
cu a worde duna na refineria di Aruba.
Na e mes tempo Marine Section Safety Contest a presents
dos certificado na dos grupo di Aruba: Lake Fleet a sali di
prom6 den Tankers Division y den Stevedoring Division Lago
a sali di prom6. Proficiat!




Ningun hende no ta consider un truck cu ta corre un
milla pa ora peligroso algo peligroso. Si un truck corriendo
asina poco-poco dal un hende ta solamente un sla chikito e
ta hiba.
Ta depende, sinambargo, di ki moda bo ricibi e sla. Si bo
ta para dilanti di e truck, quizas ni cai be no ta cal. Pero
si bo pia ta bao di e wiol of si e word primi mei-mei di
suela y e tire, anto si ta algo serio.
Un empleado di Paint Department a haya sa esey. El a bula
for di un truck un moment prom6 cu el a para y ora e homber
a bula su pia a bai p'atras y el a pega entire suela y e tire-e
tire no a paso riba su pia, solamente primi e pia tabata. Resul-
tado: cuater weso kibra y 70 dia perdi for di trabao. Y e
truck no tabata corre ni un milla pa ora!


WARDA TE ORA UN AUTO PARA
PROME BO SALI AFOR


Bon recordnan di seguridad ta duna un cierto satisfacci6n
na tur empleadonan, pasobra reducci6n o prevenci6n di acci-
dentes ta pa empleadonan mes bon. Pero bon record no ta
duna ningun placer a esun empleado cu a hiba desgracia. E
sufrimento, ausencia for di su famia y podiser p6rdida di
placa cu ta result di mayoria di accidentenan ta loque mas ta
preocupe.
Empleadonan y Directiva a co6pera pa haci Lago un lugar
mas sigur pa traha. Cuidao especial di cada empleado ta
necesario pa sigui manten6 como tal.


(Dots Indicate that reporter
Simon Coronel.
BIpat Chand
Sattaur Bacchus
Gordon Ollivierre
Luclano Wever
Simon aeerman
Bernard Marquis
Iphil Jones
Ersklne Anderson
Sam Viapres
Fernando Da Silva
Bertie Vlapree
Hugo de Vrles
Pedro Odor
Mrs. Ivy Butts
Jacinto de Kort
Henry Nassy
Harold Wathiy
Mrs. M. A. Mongroe
Elsa Mackintosh
Elrlk Crichlow
Alvin Texeira
Calvin Hasell
Faderico Penson
Edward Larmonle
Edgar Connor
Marlo Harms
Cade Abraham
Jan Oduber
John Franlisco
Jose La Crux
Vanlsha Vanterpool
Rlcardo Van Blarcum
Claude Bolah
Hubert Ecury
Harold James
Edney Huckleman
Samuel Rajroop


has turned in


a tip for this issue)
Hospital
Storehouse
Instrument
Electrloal
Labor
Drydook
Marine Office
Receiving & Shipping
Acid & Edeleanu
L. 0. F.
Pressure Stills
C.T.R. & Field Shops
T.S.D. Office
Accounting
Powerhouse 1 & 2
Laboratories 1 & 2
Laboratory 3
Lago Police
Esso & Lago Clubs
Dining Halls (3)
Catalytic
Gas & Poly Plants
M. & C. Office
Masons & Insulators
Carpenter & Paint
Machine Shop
Blacksmith, Boiler & Tin
Pipe
Welding
Colony Commissary
Plant Commissary
Laundry
Colony Service Office
Colony Shops
Garage
Personnel
Sports
Special


PICTURE CREDITS: Falcon Society and Methodist pageant, page s and
Lago Club uresentation. page 1. by Samuel RaJruop. Photographs on [ag,.i
4-5-6 taken from "Ships of the Esso Fleet in World Wa] II".


Trucks moving at one mile an hour aren't usually con-
sidered dangerous. If hit by one moving that slowl; you would
receive no more than a little bump.
It all depends, though, on how you happen to be bumped. If
standing in front of the truck you would probably not even
fall down. But if your foot were under a wheel, or even
squeezed between the side of a tire and the ground, it would
be serious.
A Paint Department employee recently learned this, to his
sorrow. He jumped off the side of a truck just an instant
before it stopped moving, and as he did his foot swung back
and was cramped between the wheel and the ground not
run over, just squeezed. Result: four broken bones and 70
days of being disabled. And the truck was moving less than a
mile an hour!


WAIT TILL VEHICLES STOP
BEFORE GETTING OFF


Good safety records can bring a sense of satisfaction and
achievement to all employees; any reduction or prevention of
injuries is to the good. But fine records bring no pleasure to
the one employee who may be hurt. The suffering, absence
from his family, and possible loss of earnings that result
from most accidents are his chief concern.
Employees and Management together have cooperated to
make Lago a safer place to work. It will continue to take the
extra care of every employee to keep it so.


Algun dia prome cu Pascu conecci6n di telefoon entire
Aruba y New York a worde inaugurA ora Gezaghebber
Kwartsz a tene e prom6 conversaci6n, sigui pa Ontvanger
A. Schutte. E mesun merda Gerente General J. J. Horigan
a papia cu W. J. Haley na oficina di Compania na New York.
Ta posibel pa haya conecci6n cu tur parti di Merca y ta costa
mas o menos 4ls. 5 pa minuut entire Aruba y New York, loque
ta un prijs rasonabel.
E servicio nobo lo ta un gran ayudo, tanto ta pa interesnan
di negocio como pa interest individual.








M



























1.


Departmental Reporters


John Whitney
Gas Plant


"- "






Nicolaas Rasmijn
M. & C.


Elias Lopez
Marine Wharves


'IT
? F'j


Venancio Wernet
Marine Wharves


NEW ARRIVALS


A daughter. Johanna Teresa, to Mr. and Mrs.
Leonardo Boekhoudt. December 10.
A son, Rudolph Achylus, to Mr. and Mrs. Cyrille
Richardson. December 10.
A daughter. Jermin Ruby, to Mr. and Mrs.
Stephen Blaize. December 11.
A daughter. Jean Eileen, to Mr. and Mrs. Isaac
Moses, December 11.
A son, Eusebmo Lucio. to Mr. and Mrs Ergo
Beaumont, December 13.
A daughter, Maria Bernadette, to Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Hodge, December 13.
A son, Miguel Jose, to Mr. and Mrs. Mate-r
Lacle. December 1.3.
A son. Psythlc Palmber, to Mr. and Mrs. Power
Daniel. December 1 I.
A son. God on Emanuel. to MI. and Sli,. Rupert
Logan., December I i.
A isol, L.rnt Lenoid Lo to Mr. andl Mrs. John
Moses. December 1 .
A son. Fank Willard. to Mr. and Mrs. Darrell
Jackson. December 19.
A son, Dominico. to MIr. andil i3. Pablo Kock.
I)ecember 20.
A orso Nirel R.obe ., tIo Mi. and Ml. Beirtiam
Schoonmaker. December 2fU.
A son. Tommy. to Sir. and Mrt Vicente Azend,,
December 21.
A daughter, Aulrora Patl telnia. ti Mi. anti M-s.
Edelmiro Schwengle. December 22.
A daugther, Glasita Ma.iina. to Mi. and IMr-.
George Thomas. December 22.
A daughter, Margarita Filomena. to Mlr. an!
Mrs. Alexander Leon, Decemnihe 2i.
A daughter, Linda Jo.an, to Mr. anil Mrs. Regi-
nald McLean. December 2:.
A daughter. Marnrlne Gale. to MI. and M-rs.
Robeit Grossman, December I1.
A son. Roue. Thomair, ti Mi. tand Mis. Arthur
Mclnutt. December 2 I.
A daughter. Carii N n.it. t... M,i and Mir.
Ilicks, December 21;.
A son. Donald Liv gest oln, to St. anid lis. Vin-
cent Homne. December 2.
A son. Joseph. to Mir. and Mri. ..oseph Thorna-.
December 27.
A daughter. Pirncess ,Leonio.. to Mi. and MI..
HuLtchinson Piimni. Deccmhcl 27,
A daughter. Elaine May Dina, toN Mi, and I M
Allert .Jerf e>. Decemberi 27
A r.n, God in,. to Mi. and Mi, .\doltphut .Inhn.
)ecemlber 27.
A dlan ighter,. i1 )i'--n. to i and UI.
T'hn ne. Deeinble 27.
A dauightel. lftllotinn. e l llhi lin in Ino irI.I a 1.1 I
Mi. and Mis,. C('iro. tdnI IIn \ ,lrrs. DI cemniei 2. .
.\ s' n. II manll I Ceion I, t t i anI d Mr-. T-lir.,lrht! .
hlanrue. I n)eLnlo 2n.
A on. Ielixe CnI) ilt t l Mlt alnl M l ,i. )rtirillo
KluythoUf, DDe.etlener l9,
M13,. V -a ell l d I(c0nil. lh 1e(c 'l,
A laughter elmr lrIloia. tI Mi a I MIrs.
Isasa r Aeild ,. Do iii ini r I .
A son. Geoge CnColilil. to Ml. and Mii. Mal.niot
bto)1, December S.1.
A ton. Ednlmuntdo Si c-tllr. i(l Mi lIIl Mis,. ,i.
t.,nlo Th.odl I)ecemllr e :t I .
A son. Vo e te De S v.., I.to Ir i nd MI t l ,I -
filo Cro1es. Decenriler :;1.
A son. Valirto Esteb.ano, to MS. and Mits. l)Dooi-
nico Maduro. Januiy 1.
A daughter. Rita H<.nriette, to Mr. anl Mlis.
SMax van Bocholve. Iaru.,3 1.
A son, Sameon ,to All. and Mis. Jacinto Dolnati.
January 3.
A son, Donald Lawrence, to Mr. anld Mis
Anthony Perrotte. January G.
A daughter. Elaine Leonaro. to Mr. and Mrs.
thick ValZiek. JanuIary 7.
A son. Roland Frans, to Mr. ant Mirs. Fian,
Koolman. January 7.
A son. Earl, to Mr. and Mrs. Hugo de Vries,
January 7.
A daughter. Cheryl Ann, to li. and Mrs. A4be l
Herdman, January 7.
A daughter. Elsa Seferina. to Mr. and Mrs.
Daniel Angela. January 8.
A daughter, Geraldine Marie, to Mr. and Mrs._
Aage Jensen, January 9.


"C. Y. I." Plan Expanded

To Include Supervisors

The "Coin Your Ideas" plan, long a
source of profit to clear-thinking em-
ployees with good ideas, was broadened
January 2 to make supervisors eligible
for awards.
While supervisors' jobs include the use
of their experience and skill to improve
operations, it has been recognized that
each one's responsibilities are limited
according to his position. The extension
of the plan will now make it possible to
reward this group of employees for ac-
cepted suggestions that are not directly
in line with their duties.


Long Service Awvards

December, 1946


20-Year Buttons


1111









JANUARY 17, 1047 ARUBA 510 NEWS


This year, as it has for a number of years
past, the holiday season started with a
Christmas party at the Lago Marine Club in
honor of Government employees. Nearly 300
guests enjoyed the food, drink, and good
fellowship common to these parties.
New features of the evening included a
souvenir program dedicated to Lt. Governor
L. C. Kwartsz and listing names of all the
guests, professional entertainment, and a
contest yielding a prize to the guest who se-
cured the most autographs on his program.

A quartet sang carols and novelty numbers. Left to right
are Carter Miller, William Weber, Charles Overstreet, and
Leonard McReynolds.


Above, group singing was a most popular feature. (The enthusiastic singer
in the foreground Is L. A.Valk, whose son was accompanying on the accordion.)


Below, a group of immigration


men exchange program signatures with George
Hemstreet.


Jan Valk and his accordion provided some of
the best entertainment. (In other years his
father, L. A. Valk, has done the same thing.
only with a concertina.)


The Postoffice crew, perhaps the hardest-working men on the island during the week before
Christmas, had good cause to relax during the party.


Charles William
South American


The Customs group, above, Includes Policarpo Jandroep, (in the uniform)
who drives the Lt. Governor's car.


Antonio do Barros of the lning Hall staff makes ready some of the
refreshments.


Linscher's Orhestra takes Utn out from music-making to enjoy one of the solo musical numbers.


produced popular
rhythms with his
ultar.


This group Inludes one of the newest Military Policemen (second from left)
and also one of the oldest-Jan Oorthuls, fourth from left, who Is now with
the Lago Police but started out with the M.P.'s In 1928. His son-In-law,
Jan do Bor, third from left, won the autographed program contest.


Blelw re some of those most concerned with organizing the party. Left to
right are 0. B. Brook, 0. P. Hemstreet, J. Abadle, J. F. X. Auer, W. Bool,
A. L. Eves, E. G. Armstrong, and R. P. Fraser. Members of the committee
not Il the ploture are J. Wervers and M. K. Hamilton.


lowBBBBa


ARUBA ESSO NEWS


JANUARY 17, 1047







4 ARUBA SSO NEWS JANUARY 17, 197






a teM Utat go out i to tJ 7, ul94


The records of 135 ocean tankers of the Standard Oil Company (N.J.)
and the Panama Transport Company during World War II arc a vital
part of the history of the Allied war effort. These ships delivered over
665,000,000 barrels of oil to the war fronts in every theater of operation;
above decks they carried important loads of airplanes, PT boats, landing
craft, tanks, and trucks. Also, says President Eugene Holman in a tribute,
they carried heroes, and skill, and courage beyond the call of duty.

The stories of their adventures, successes, and disasters were recentlly
compiled in a book that is dedicated to the men who served aboard the
tankers, those who gave their lives and those who survived and carried on.
The names of many of these ships have been by-words in Aruba for
20 years. Because Lago could not have fulfilled its obligations in the war
without them-nor even existed-some of their stories are told here. The
material, in condensed form, is from "Ships of the Esso Fler inl Woi.l
War II".


The Ship that Wouldn't Sink


Not long after the submarine attack
on Aruba in February, 1942, many
departments in the refinery received
instructions from the Storehouse to re-
order certain supplies that they had
originally ordered months before. Some-
how word got around that these supplies
had been Aruba-bound on the Esso Boli-
var, and that "something had happened
to the ship", though what had happened
never became generally known. A great
deal had happened to the Bolivar, and to
its staunch crew:
On March 1, 1942 the Esso Bolivar,
with a load of fresh water, commissary
stores and general cargo, left Newport
News, Virginia bound for Aruba without
convoy. At 2:30 a.m. March 8, when the
ship was 30 miles southeast of the U.S.
Naval Base at Guantanamo, Cuba, the
first shell from a submarine's deck gun
narrowly missed her bow. Shells began
exploding on deck as the sub found the
range. An SOS call was sent and acknow-
ledged just before a burst of shrapnel
put the radio out of commission. A shell
started a fire in the galley, at the same
time breaking the fuel oil line to the
galley range. The oil spread the fire over
the stern until the gun crew had to aban-
don the gun mounted there. The steering
gear was shot away, lifeboats were
damaged or demolished, and the ship
was completely out of control.
The deck was burning fiercely. It in-
cluded cylinders of acetylene shattered
by shellfire; the escaping, burning gas
set fire to a cargo of liferafts consigned
to Aruba. "Besides", reported Chief
Engineer McTaggart, "we had over 300
gallons of paint off the engineroom and
this caught fire from the intense heat of


the bulkheads. You can't really picture
what it was like...... the submarine was
firing shells as fast as a clock ticks, ac-
curately and with no let-up. Every few
minutes someone was getting hurt or kil-
led". Later, after the order came to aban-
don ship, Chief McTaggart and his two
assistants stayed below for a time to put
the engine in as good order as possible
for future operation if salvage was pos-
sible. Up forward, Capt. James Stewart
had been killed. Chief Mate Fudske had
started to lower the only lifeboat that
could be launched; it had been riddled
with shrapnel holes, and sank to the gun-
wales, supported only by the buoyancy
of the air tanks. Before the ropes could
be released, a shell exploded against the
ship's side directly over the boat, and
Mate Fudske and Messman Daley were
killed. Two battered lifeboats and three
rafts eventually got away, and a number
of men were floating in lifejackets.
For nearly two hours the submarine
shelled the burning tanker without sink-
ing it (and occasionally sprayed the sur-
rounding waters with a machine gun).
Just before daybreak a torpedo ripped
into the ship, which listed badly but
stayed afloat. The sub then disappeared.
As the lifeboat containing Fudske and
Daley picked up floating survivors, the
added weight started to sink it, so the
bodies were lowered into the sea. After
daybreak the men worked to plug the
shrapnel holes in the airtanks of the
nearly submerged boats. As McTaggart
reported: "We took the air-tanks out one
by one and plugged the holes after let-
ting the water out. Some of the men were
wearing complete lifesaving suits with
heavy rubber boots; we cut the boots


away and pulled them through the large
holes as stuffing... There were vegetables
floating around part of the commis-
sary stores hurled out ot the ship
through the huge hole made by the tor-
pedo. We picked up scores of parsnips
and carrots; they were ideal for plugging
smaller holes......"

(Remember how scarce parsnips
and carrots were at the Commissary!
in the middle of 1942?)

By noon all survivors had been picked
up by Navy craft and were taken to
Guantanamo. And by 9 o'clock next mor-
ning 14 of the Bolivar's crew, 25 Naval
personnel, and a Navy tug were back to
try to save the tanker, which was still
burning and had a 20 degree list.
While a pumpman expertly gravitated
the ballast to different levels until the
ship floated level, McTaggart went to
work on his engines. The result was call-
ed "McTaggart's miracle" by a crew
member who gave this description: "The
naval officers were getting ready to tow
the ship and the tug was just tightening
the hawser when the chief engineer re-
ported to the bridge that he was ready
to start the main engine. When the men
on the tug were told to cast off and the
Esso Bolivar started to move under her
own power, I never saw so many surpris-
ed people. The tug barely cast off in time
and was almost towed by the ship. Her
men had to cut the hawser."
The ship arrived at Guantanamo that
night, still burning, and it was three more
days, with shifts working around the
clock, before the last fire in the
refrigerating room's cork insulation was


xltinguished. After temporary repairs
there, the ship limped up to Mobile for
permanent repairs. Five months after
the attack the ship was again on the N,'w
York-Aruba run.

The first Liberty ship honoring a
member of the Esso fleet personnel lost
by enemy action was the SS Hawkins
Fudske, named for the chief mate of the
Bolivar. Four men received Presidential
citations and Distinguished Service
Medals:
Chief Mate Fudske: "......realizing, in
his dying condition, that the safety of
the men depended on getting their boat
away from the side of the ship, his last
words were 'Never mind me, fellows. Try
to get the boat away'."
Chief Eng. McTaggart: "......heroism
and especially meritorious service under
unusual hazards ......extraordinary cou-
rage and disregard of danger in the
protection of his vessel ......"
Fireman Arthur Lauman: "......with
fires above and below decks, he remained
at his post in the fireroom ......when or-
dered to report to his boat station he was
found calmly clearing debris in order to
continue operations ......helped another
seaman fight off sharks attacking a
wounded member of the gun crew......"
Able Seaman C. Richardson: "......al-
though injured himself, he got two badly
wounded Navy armed guard men into
the water, placed one on his back and
had the other grasp him around the neck
......defended himself and his compa-
nions against sharks, which pulled the
man off his back ......but he succeeded in
getting the second wounded man and
himself into a lifeboat......"


A torpedo ripped up the deck of the Esso Aruba when it exploded inside the ship.


Aruba's "Name-ship"


Sets Record


The most familiar ocean tanker in San Nicolar harbor, the Esso Aruba, was
torpedoed and nearly had its back broken. It was out of service for six months
while repairs were made, yet it piled up what is probably the record for the Esso
fleet: the enormous total ot 11,060,473 barrels of vitally important oil, in 116
cargoes, between September 3, 1939 and V-J Day.
The Esso Aruba sailed from G(iria, Venezuela Aug 15, 1942, with 104,170
barrels of diesel oil destined for New Yoi k : :t T inlidad it joined a north-bound
convoy. Captain Frank Pharr's stoz y:
"The night of August 27 the weather :;, chali with a nearly full moon...... at
11 p.m. escort vessels began dropping depth charges- one or two miles off, and
heav3 gunfire and tracer bullets were visible in the vicinity...... at 12:30 a.m.
ihe gunfire subsided and an escort flashed the signal 'Submarine disposed of'.
At 12:40 a.m. the San Fabian, in the next coluhmn,j was torpedoed. Three minutes
later the Rotterdam was the next victim, with a huge fire flaring up. Almost
simultaneously the Esso Aruba was struck .... the torpedo entered No. 6 tank
and blew up inside the ship. The deck over the tank was blown 20 feet into the
air...... A 16-year-old messboy, quartered about 30 feet from the point where the
torpedo struck, slept through the explosion and general alarm and finally had to
be dragged from his bunk...... The vessel sagged in the middle and was nearly
broken in two. Two tanks were entirely open to the sea, and water flowed into
these to replace the oil lost; this prevented the ship from capsizing. Only one man
had been injured, when he was bounced out of a cot where he was sleeping on
deck......"
The Esso Aruba reached Guantanamo, Cuba under its own power; the comman-
dant of the naval base feared contamination of the harbor, but permitted the ship
to be beached in the bay, as she was in danger of breaking in two if she remained
outside. Over 60,000 barrels of oil were salvaged. Then, after temporary repairs.
she was sent to drydock at Galveston. She re-entered service February 13, 1943.


1111s








ARUBA ESSO NEWS


JANUARY 17. 1941


Taking it From All Sides

The J. A. IMowinckel "took it on the
hull" from both German and U.S. explo-
sives during a U-boat attack in July,
1942 that cost the lives of two of her
crew and laid up the ship for eight
months.
She was in a south-bound convoy off
Cape Hatteras, carrying food and 6,000
tons of drinking water for Aluba, when
she was torpedoed, the second of thl ec
ships hit in rapid succession partment records, clieckedi since' the end
of the war against C -rman records, pr v-
ed that the attacking submarine was
destroyed by escort planlc and ships).
Captain Harold Griffith's account: "A
Survey showed that we had been hit
about eight feet below the wautc liie, the
explosion tearing a 20 lj] 20 fool hole
......the steeling engine room. the galley,
the messrooms, and the after gun plat-
form were wrecked. There was a six-nllIh
hole in the after bulkhead of tlhe engine-
room, and it began filling up. A mattress
was stuffed in the hole and braced there
with planks, but the water kept comrag
in...... we headed foi the beach. We hnd
covered about 20 mills when n scondI
explosion occurred......"
Unknown to the masters of the J. A.
Mowiuckel and to another torpedoed
ship that was trying to reach shore, or
to the Navy escort that accompanitl
them, a U.S. mine field lay between the
crippled ships and the shore. It was get-
ting dark at the time of the second ex-
plosion, and the captain decided to aban-
don the vessel, after anchoring it in the
hope of later salvage.
Next day the captain and a number of
volunteers returned to the ship. A tug
assisting in the salvage operations struck
a mine and sank immediately. After the
area had been swept for mines, the
Mowinckel was towed to Hatteras Inlet
and beached, for temporary repairs. (For
several days the ship's officers had to live
on board; the galley was under water, so
they couldn't cook. They lived chiefly on
Lago's ice cream and frozen strawberries
- and say they have had no desire for
either item since.)
Some time later, after the ship had
been refloated, it dragged its anchor in
the night and again struck a mine. (The
other ship trying to reach shore had cap-
sized and sunk in the entrance to Chesa-
peake Bay). The Mowinckel was even-
tually repaired, and returned to service
in March, 1943.

Just a month before her own encoun-
ter with a submarine, the Moninckel had
brought to Aruba the captain, second
mate, and two stewards of the Royal
Netherlands Steamship Company's SS
Crijnssen,which had been torpedoed a few
days before. The K.N.S.M. ship had been
en route from Curacao to New Orleans
when it was lost. Picking these four sur-
vivors off their raft was a feat in fast
rescue operations. Quoting from the cap-
tain's report: "The raft was helpless and
on account of the sea running we could
not get alongside and did not want to
remain in that vicinity very long...... we
lowered the boat, started the outboard
motor, reached the raft, took off the sur-
vivors, returned to The J. A. Mowinckel,
and hoisted the boat with the ship's
winches, all in 19 minutes."


Aruba Shuttle


Service


Eight ships were assigned to the peri-
lota job of being Lago's lifeline dur-
ing most of the war years: the Eso
Bolivar, the C. O. Stillman (until she wac-
lost), the Esso Aruba, the Esso New
Orleans (second of that name), the F. II.
Bedford Jr., the Esso Raleigh Isecond so
named), the J. A. Mowinckel, and the
Peter Hurll. They plied more or less
regularly between Auilia anl New York.
In the geography of World War II,
Lago was. one of the most important key
bases of petroleum supply in the world
- and keeping it regularly supplied with
fresh water, commissary stores, and
refinery equipment was one of the most
important jobs on the sea. Ships were
anonymous during the war, slipping in
and out of port with no fanfare. They
need not be anonymous now; with irre-
gular help from others, these are the
rhips that did the job of keeping Lago
supplied.


The F. W. ABRAMS left A-uba June 2, 1942 bound
for New York. The picture above, taken June 11,
shows the end of the voyage. Proceeding without
escort nine miles off Cape Hatteras, the ship
received a torpedo in the starboard bow. Though re-
duced to s ow speed, she didn't seem to be sinking
so the captain started to head for the nearest port.
Thirty minutes later another torpedo struck, and
the tanker started to settle by the bow. After 20
minutes came a third explosion, more violent than
the preceding two, and the ABRAMS began to
sink rapidly. The crew abandoned ship with
only one nan injured. The stern stayed afloat for
two days, hut heavy seas battered the ship until
she disappeared.


Without


a Trace


Of the untold hundreds of ships that
were sunk in World War II, few went to
the bottom without the disaster being
seen from other ships, or without a sur-
vi\oi to tell the tale. This, however, was
the fate of the Esso tanker L J. Drake.
Tl, L. J. Drake and the C. O. Stillman
sailed together from San Nicolas on the
morning of June 4, 1912, the first headed
for Puerto Rico and the second for New
York. The two ships were together for a
time after leaving Aruba; however, the
Stillman's speed was 9'1 knots, and the
Drake's was 9 knots, so the latter
gradually fell behind, and went out of
sight at nightfall. The L. J. Drake was
never seen or heard from again, lost
without a trace. The ship had 35 crew
m imbcrs a:nd 6 Navy gunners aboard
when she disappeIired.


The Paul II. Il.'rood, well-known in
Aruba < necr tie earliest d:iys of the
rililnery, surv\ixed a torpedo in the Gulf
(r Mexico iii July, 1942; lai.r it went on
to comrpletl e a full wai record that includ-
ed a 1ilp oi the danger oi r, route to Mur-
manlsk early in 1945.
For the voyngo to arctic Russia, the
Il;a:'ood carried 60,000 barrels of indus-
I ril alcohol 'for m.litions-making. This
wa.s .ime ol the most hazardous routes, in
11i \orl d, and their 22-slip convoy was
escoi it b, two aircraft carriers, a
ciuis r, destroyers, and destroyer escorts
Attacks came frequently from sub-
m.,iriis an from as many as 25 torpedo
planes at once Freightets and tankers
were sunk on all sides of the Harwood,
but she wasn't touched. "One of the des-
troyers following us was hit, apparently
in her magazine. A steam cloud rose
about 300 feet in the air and when it
gradually settled down there was nothing
left of the vessel. It was rumored one
man was saved......"


To two seamen of the M. F. Elliot, tor-
pedoed 150 miles northwest of Trinidad,
went the extraordinary experience of
being rescued by a Nazi submarine, held
for three hours, then set adrift in a small
boat from which they were rescued five
days later for the second time.
The Elliot, which was torpedoed June
3, 1942, sank in six minutes six
minutes in which to decide that the ves-
sel was doomed, to send an SOS, to give
the order to abandon ship, and to launch
the boats. Nearly all the crew members
were seen on deck after the explosion,
but the ship settled by the stern very
rapidly with the bow coming high in the
air; it capsized the lifeboats that had
just been launched, and threw all hands
into the water in every direction. Thir-
teen men were drowned when the life-
boats capsized or were sucked under by
the sinking ship. Thirty men clung to
four rafts that were lashed together;
just before dark a plane appeared (pos-
sibly from our Dakota field?) and sig-
naled by blinker that help was coming. A
destroyer found them next morning and
landed them at Trinidad.
Meanwhile seamen Smithson and O'Con-
nor were having a rare experience. The
ship's suction had carried them under,
but they got free in time and bobbed to
the surface; later, they made a raft out
of a mast, a spar from a lifeboat, and a
plank, and kept hailing the rafts of the
other survivors but -without success. By
the time darkness fell, they were about


to give up Then: "All of a sudden a big
black shape loomed up the submarine.
We cried for help and after about five
minutes they sighted us ......two seamen
in the bow threw us a heaving line and
pulled us to the sub ......the commander
spoke perfect English. We asked him to
take us to the rafts and he agreed
......when we could see the rafts 300
yards away a flare went off overhead
......we were shoved down the hatch of
the conning tower and the U-boat sub-
merged ......they gave us water, hot tea,
and bread and cheese, also rags to wipe
off the oil ......We surfaced for a few
minutes, then dove again. We were blind-
folded and taken to the torpedo room,
where they washed us in petrol to remove
some of the oil. We were in the torpedo
room an hour and a half. The men with
us could speak no English, but they were
kind and kept feeding us water and
graham crackers......"

After three hours below, they were
given the submarine's 12-foot lifeboat,
with four gallons of water and a day's
ration of hardtack, and told to row
south to reach their comrades. Then
began an agonized five-day wait for
rescue; they saw planes or ships nearby
every day, but only once attracted the
attention of a ship, which promptly zig-
zagged away. Finally, when they were so
weak they could only lie in the bottom of
the boat and drift, they were picked up
by a Brazilian tanker.


A train could be driven through the hole ripped in the side of the PAUL H. HARWOOD by a
torpedo. The ship was traveling in ballast when she was hit.


A Ride in a U-Boat


_


......- -.` .


J







6 ARUBA ESSO NEWS


The ESSO RICHMOND (taken into the Navy as the oiler KASKASKIA) fuels the aircraft carrier
ESSEX and the cruiser BALTIMORE at the same time.


With its Whistle Blowing


The E. M. Clark (originally the Victo-
lite, a common pre-war visitor here) was
another victim of the deadly Cape Hat-
teras area. On March 18, 1942, during
the period when the undersea warfare
was at a vicious stage, the ship was hit
but failed to catch fire. The masts were
down, the deckhouse smashed, and the
decks were littered with wreckage; in
rain-lashed darkness lit by lightning
flashes, the radio operator and the cap-
tain tried to string an emergency radio
antenna. A second torpedo that went
deep inside before exploding forced them
to abandon ship.
The ship's whistle jammed and sent
out a steady roar. A few minutes after
the boats were clear, the stern lifted
high, and she plunged forward and down.
Just before the smokestack disappeared
under the surface, the whistle, which had
been blowing steadily since the second
explosion, stopped for a few seconds,
then started again, and was still blasting
as it went under.




They Get the Biggest


The C. O. Stillman, which was on its
way to Aruba at the time of the February
16, 1942 attack here and went unreport-
ed for days, had only four more months
to live. In June, one day out of Aruba,
the largest tanker in the world (163,145
barrels capacity) was sunk with the loss
of three crew members.
The first torpedo set the midship house
afire and destroyed some of the life-
boats; the second, 25 minutes later,
showered a group of escaping men with
debris and fuel oil, which miraculously
did not catch fire. Three minutes after the
second torpedo the ship went down. The
survivors on three rafts drifted for two
days and two nights before they were
picked up; two lifeboats landed on the
shores of the Dominican Republic.


In at the Start


The George G. Henry, which made
history in Aruba more than 25 years
ago, when it was one of the first depot
ships anchored at Oranjestad to receive
oil from lake tankers and pump it into
ocean tankers, made history again in
December, 1941, when it happened to be
in Manila the day the Japanese attacked
Pearl Harbor. (Its exciting war days
over, the Henry is now back in Aruba,
this time as part of the Lake Fleet doing
the regular run between here and Lake
Maracaibo.)
On the second day of the Pacific war
the Henry, then a veteran of 21 year?
service, was lying at anchor in Manila
Bay awaiting a berth to discharge her
cargo. The entire crew was out painting
the ship war gray when dozens of Jan
planes came over, bombing and machine-
gunning the ships on their route. The
closest explosion rolled the Henry, and
later a bucketful of bomb fragments and
machine gun bullets was picked up on
deck, but no serious damage was done.
The planes passed over and went on to
make a shambles of the Cavite Navy
Yard, plastering fuel dumps, ammuni-
tion warehouses, and the Navy Hospital.
Two days later, with the Japanese al-
ready making landings in the Philip-
pines, the Henry discharged its cargo;
on December 15 it was given permission
to leave, provided the escape was made in
darkness. Light buoys marking a mine
field were out, and the ship almost got
into the mines, but was finally led to the
comparative safety of the outside waters.
They then sailed south a thousand miles
to Balik Papan, and secured 75,000 bar-
rels of fuel oil there just a month before
the plant was blown up to keep it from
the enemy. From there they went to Soe-
rabaja and discovered after they
entered the harbor that they had un-
knowingly sailed right through a Nether-
lands mine field. Finally, after sailing
1,600 miles alone through waters con-
trolled or threatened by the Japanese
they set out in convoy for Port Darwin,


Clouds of black smoke billow from the ESSO BOSTON, torpedoed 300 miles north of St. Marten
on a voyage from Caripito to Halifax.


Death Struck Heavily

While many ships lost many men, two
of the heaviest losses were sustained by
the J. H. Senior, with 68 killed and only
6 survivors, and by the Esso Gettysburg,
with 57 lost and only 15 surviving.
A few ships, on the other hand, seem-
ed to lead charmed lives. Such was the
A. C. Bedford, which carried 8,054,202
barrels of oil through some of the most
hazardous seas without ever being
damaged by enemy action. She travelled
the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, North
Atlantic, and Mediterranean, but tragedy
never struck as it did to so many other
ships of the fleet.
The J. H. Senior was in convoy 600
miles east of Halifax the night of August
19, 1943, when, in a dense fog, she was
in a collision with a freighter. The result-
ing fire gutted both ships, and all but
nine men on both vessels were lost. The
Senior was carrying over 100,000 barrels
of gasoline to England; the freighter was
loaded with an equally inflammable
cargo, thousands of bales of cotton and
tons of magnesium, glycerin, resin, and
wax. The ships became great torches
from whick escape was practically im-
possible, with burning gasoline spread
over a wide area of the sea. The decks
of the Senior had been loaded with a full
cargo of airplanes, and in most cases
these were reduced to molten metal.
The ship was towed to Canada, and
later to New York, but repairs have not
been attempted.
The Esso Gettysburg, less than a year
and a half old, made safe voyages
between March, 1942 and June, 1943, in-
cluding several to Gibraltar and one to
Oran. (On the way back from Gibraltar
in November, 1942, she accidentally got
in the way of the Allied armada that was
steaming south to invade North Africa;
she had to change course and go around
the great fleet, 15 hours out of her way).
The last voyage ended in disaster when
she was struck by two torpedoes while en
route from the Gulf to Philadelphia.
The blows came within four seconds of
each other. The ship immediately burst
into flames and quickly settled by the
stern. Fire spread so rapidly that the
men not already caught in it could only
dive over the side. One group of six men
were attacked several times by a shark,
but managed to keep it at bay by violent
kicking and splashing. Later they found
the burnt-out hulls of two lifeboats (one
containing three bodies), and in the next
five hours they picked up the nine re-
maining survivors. They were rescued
the following day by the SS George
Washington.






^, I L.


Australia.
The George G. Henry beca
portant auxiliary ship of tl
fleet in the Southwest Pacifi
privately-owned tanker that
,nips of the Asiatic Fleet duri
four months of desperate
action. She fueled the aircr
Langley before her last miss
. tempt to take fighter
strengthen the defenses of
fueled the ships that were
Battle of the Java Sea and i:
afterwards the Houston, P
Edsall, Stewart, and Pillsbur
later fueled the few survivors.
Eventually the Henry ran o
to fuel, so many had been
attempts to stop the southwa
the Japanese. She went to
where her first job was fuellinh
port President Coolidge for
that took Philippine President
the United States. In April,
was taken into the Navy alone
Esso captain, J. G. Olsen, and
balance of the war as the Nav
Victoria.


tme an im-
he fighting
c, the only
fueled war-
ng the firn
defensive
aft carrier
ion, a bold
planes ti
Java. She
lost in the
immediately
eary, Pope,
y and

ut of ships
lost in the
rd push of
Melbourne,
g the trans-
the voyage
Quezon to
1942, she
ig with her
served the
y oiler USS


Ships and Men

Countless stories came out of the
Esso fleet's years in the war, stories of
heroism, of freak escapes, of the unusual
things that happened to men and ships
while they delivered the oil. Nearly all
could take a page by themselves; here
are a few in brief form:


In 1943 the Chester O. Swain was
anchored at Algiers when a Norwegian
freighter 600 yards away exploded.
When the 1,800 tons of German mines it
was carrying blew up, 1,500 people were
killed by the concussion and by an
ensuing fire of ammunition on the har-
bor docks. Of all the ships in the basin
when the explosion occurred, the Swain
was the first to move under its own
power; with only minor damage, in spite
of its closeness to the blast, it was able
to move out of the harbor until fires on
shore and ships were brought under
control.


When the Persephone was torpedoed
off the New Jersey coast, the stern
settled to the bottom in a few minutes,
forcing the crew to abandon ship. Later,
after he had been picked up by a Coast
Guard vessel, the captain saw that the
bow was still floating; he asked his
rescuers to return him to the ship, where
he salvaged 23 bags of mail. This was
our mail, since the Persephone had left
Aruba the week before. (The ship later
broke in two and the stern was lost. The
bow was towed to New York but was not
salvaged, except that a year later, when
the Livingston Roe was at Baltimore for
repairs after a severe fire, the Perse-
phone's midship house was removed in-
tact, taken to Baltimore, and fitted to
the Roe.)



Four lifeboats rowed away from Esso
Harrisburg July 6 as the torpedoed ves-
sel sank off the Venezuelan coast. One
landed on a Colombian beach and these
survivors made their way to Barran-
quilla. Two were picked up by a U.S. sub-
marine chaser and landed at Aruba, and
the fourth was found by the Netherlands
destroyer Queen Wilhelmina, which also
brought its survivors here.


A dog and a man helped save each
other when the E. G. Seubert went down
in the Gulf of Aden, after leaving Abadan
bound for the Mediterranean. When the
ship was torpedoed, caught fire, and
rapidly sank, the ship's clerk made an
instant decision to take his dog with him
when he jumped overboard, accepting a
possible handicap to swimming that
could have been dangerous.
As it turned out, it worked the other
way. As the man jumped in, dragging
the dog after him on a leash, his eyes
and ears were filled with fuel oil from
the thick coating surrounding the ship.
He could neither see a raft if one were
nearby, nor hear voices that might hail
him. The dog paddled desperately ahead
and his master followed, still hanging on
to the leash. The dog may have heard
men talking on a liferaft they approach-
ed; at any rate, some one on the raft
heard the dog panting and gasping, and
pulled him aboard, closely followed by
the man on the other end of the leash.


Electrician Michael Wajda of the T. C.
McCobb survived a seven-week ordeal on
a liferaft during which one of his two
companions died of exposure and the
other went out of his mind and was lost
overboard.
The ship went down 400 miles off the
coast of French Guiana. With the excep-
tion of one man, plus the three on the
raft, the entire crew was saved. As week
followed week, those in the missing raft
were presumed lost, and Wadja's mother
had been wearing mourning for a month
when, 50 days after the sinking, her son
told his story in a hospital at George-
town, British Guiana. He had lived
chiefly on rainwater and raw fish, and
had spent the last 11 days alone on the
raft before his rescue.


ii;- t


JANUARY IT, 1947








JANUARY 17, 1)47 ARUBA 1)50 NEWS


Baseball Schedule


(S -News


Dr. William Sparks, who has been
actively associated with the develop-
ment of a synthetic rubber that is used
extensively for inner tubes, has been nam-
ed director of the Chemical Division of
the Esso Laboratories in S.O.D. He re-
places Dr. Per Frolich, who has resigned
to enter other activities after 11 years
as director of chemical research.


A new contract providing for service
and supply of aviation gasoline and oil
to U.S. Army, Navy, and government
aircraft in over 40 countries has been
awarded to Intava Inc. for 1947. Intava
will greatly increase its services to the
government, particularly in Germany
and South America. Intava represents
the aviation petroleum products business
ot Jersey Standard anti Socony-Vacuum
Oil Company.



Jersey Makes Connections
With Middle East Companies

SLa::d:.rd Oil Co. (N.J.) recently con-
firmed that preliminary agreements
have been made with two oil companies
in the Middle East:
In one, the Company would purchase
substantial portions of crude oil from the
Anglo-Iranian Oil Company over the next
20 years. It would also assist in the con-
struction of a pipeline from the Persian
Gulf to the eastern Mediterranean.
The second agreement would involve
the acquisition of a 30 per cent interest
in the Arabian American Oil Company,
which operates in eastern Saudi Arabia,
and under this proposal Jersey would
share the cost of another pipeline from
the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean.
The proposed transactions, if complet-
ed, will bring Jersey's crude supply into
balance with its expected market de-
mands in Europe. It will also reduce the
drain on Western Hemisphere crude, the
total of which will eventually be needed
to cover the demand in this hemisphere.
The Far East crude oil position of
Standard-Vacuum, a 50 per cent Jersey
affiliate, will also be strengthened.


January 19
Ramblers vs Cerveceria
Artraco vs Dodgers
January 26
Dodgers vs San Lucas
Pepsi vs Ramblers
February 2
Pepsi vs Venezuela
Cerveceria vs Artraco

End of First Round
February 9
San Lucas vs Ramblers
Dodgers vs Venezuela
February 16
Dodgers vs Cerveceria
Pepsi vs Artraco

One of the hottest games
baseball loop at the Sport
8-7 win that Pepsi-Cola


Names and Faces on the Baseball Diamond


10:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m



10:00 a.m.
2:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m.
2:00 a.m.

in the current
Park was the
squeezed out


over the Dodgers December 15. Pepsi
scored two in the first and the Dodgers
one. In the second, Pepsi pushed it up to
4-1, but the Dodgers came right back
in the next inning with four runs to take
the lead at 5-4. Then Pepsi scored
another r pair to make it 6-5, and the
Dodgers duplicated the see-saw process
to lead again at 7-6. In the eighth Pepsi
tied it up at 7-7, and the battle went on
to eleven innings before the soft-drink
supporters pushed over their eighth and
winning run, clinching the game by hol-
diin the Dodgers scoreless in the last
h:.11 of the eleventh. That's good baseball
for the crowds, though hard on the team
maiageirs' nerves.



Lago Ta Ricibi Gradicimento Pa
Yudanza na Victimanan Holandes

Recientemente Marine Department a
ticibi e siguiente carta di Burgomaestro
di Zutphen na provincia di Gelderland na
Holanda:
"Di Aruba Hulp Fonds pa Holanda mi
a haya sa di bo generosidad di no cobra
nos pa flete pa articulonan destin, pa e
hendenan di nos stad, cu ta teriblemente
distribi.
Esaki ta un prueba cu bo ta comprende
nos necesidad, pa cual mi ta gradici bo
masha y mi ke laga sa cu nos ta aprecia
boso ayuda masha. Boso atitud lo no
laga di duna nos mas curashi."


SCHEDULE OF PAYDAYS
1947


SEMI-MONTHLY PAYROLL


PERIOD
January 1-15
16-31
February 1-15
16-28
March 1-15
16-31
April 1-15
16-30
Ma\ 1-15
16-31
June 1-15
16- 30
July 1-15
16-31
August 1-15
16-31
September I -15
16-30


MONTHLY PAYROLLS


PAY DAYS PERIOD


Thursday, January 23
Saturday, February 8'
Monday, February 24
Sa urda\, March 8*
Monday, March 24
Thursday. April 10
Wed.. April 23
Friday. May 9
Saturday. M.ay 24*
Monday. June 9
Monday. June 23
Tuesday. July 8
Wed., July 23
Friday, August 8
Saturday, August 23*
Tuesday September 9
Tuesday, September23
"Wed. October 8


October 1-15 Thursday, October 23
16- 31 Saturlday. November 8"
November 1-15 Monday, November 24
16-30 Monday, 1)ecember 8
December 1--15 I tuesday. Decenmtr 23
16-31 1-riday. january 9
SEMI -MONT11LY PAYRt lL
Plant Pay Oflice
2 30 to 6 20 p in on scheduled pa\
days
7 30 to 830 a.m. on day following
pay day
3:30 to 4 30 p.m. on day following
pay day when tils day is a week-
day. 12 noon to 1230 p m. only
when day following pay day is a
Saturday
Payoffice hours on Saturday pay
days will be from 1200 noon
until 620 p.m.
* Payoffice hours on Saturday pay
days will be from 9.30 a m. until
12:30 and 3.00 p m until 4:30 p.m.


PAY DAYS


JanuaiN 1-31 Monday. February 10

February 1-28 Monday. March 10

March 1-31 Friday. April 11


1-30 Saturday. May

1-31 Tuesday, June

1-30 Wed July


July 1-31 Saturday August 9**

August 1-31 Wed September 10

September 1-30 Thursday, October 9

October 1-31 Monday, November 10

November I-30 Tuesday, December 9

December 1-31 Saturday. January 10**

MONTHLY PAYROLLS

Plant Pay Office
Staff employees working in refinery
area (Private P R.) & all General
Works staff employees
230 to 430 pm.
Main Office
Private payroll staff employees
1.00 to 2:30 p.m.
Private payroll foreign staff
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
General Works foreign staff
2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
All Payrolls on day following
pay days 7:30 to 11:00 a.m.


PEPSI-COLA: Back, left to right, Alberto Arends (manager). N. Quinones, Edwin de Cuba, Menello
Loefstok, Luis Aponte, Manuel Salazar and Walter Arends. Front. Jesus Marin. Josef Arends.
Nel Harms (captain), Francisco Romelo, Rafael Romcro and Virgilio Dirksz.


A 41. 1


r61'
%af I,.
ci-eJ


DODGERS: Back, left to right, Bobby Nisbet (manager), Norman Clarkson, Samuel Buntin, Edwaldo
Romney, James Gibbs, Pedro Lake and T. Hoftljzer. Front. Mackinley Romney (captain), Richard
Hazel, Gregorio Hodge, A. Phillips, N. Velow and Juan Perez.


Team
Ramblers
Cerveceria
Artraco
San Lucaq
Pepsi-Cola
Venezuela
Dodgers
Highest batting
Pitcher winning
Won 4.

December 15
Pepsi Cola
Dodgers
Cerveceria
San Lucas
December 22
Artraco
Venezuela
Ramblers
San luclas
December 29
Venlezlula
Dodgers
Cerveceria
Pepsi-Cola
Janua. y i.
Uamblers
Dodgers
San Lucdas
.rtraco,


TEAM STANDINGS
(as of January 8)
G.W. G.1
4 0
2 1
2 2
2 2
1 2
1 3


average: Longun Wilson .647.
most games: Joe Proterra Pitch 4.


Dominicans Sponsor Cricket

Aruba and Curagao shared victories
with true Christmas spirit in holiday
matches December 25 and 26 sponsored
by the Dominica Cricket Club. On Christ-
mas, playing for the Huckleman Cup
(presented by E. J. Huckleman of the
Dispensary), the Curagao C.C. piled up
80 for all in a one innings match while
Dominica garnered only 35 for all. Hay-
wood and Charles were top batters.
The following day a Lago combination
practically wiped out a Curagao com-
bination playing for a cuip offered by the
Company. Lago bowled all Curagao for
72 runs, with Nicholas taking most wic-
kets for the home team. Lago then
went in and scored 98 runs at the fall of
the first wicket, with Brown 47, out, and
Howe not out at 41.
Following the Boxing Day match
prizes were awarded, with Mr. Huckle-
man as master of ceremonies and C. J.
Monroe making the presentations. In ad-
dition to the two cups, individual bowling
and batting prizes were given. The Cura-
Cao club expressed their pleasure at the
Dominica club's hospitality.


SCORES
Dice.i bi-.r 1 -
Pihates
Rangers
December 22
I.a lama 'I'
ir iniiad B'l
lianuati ,
Voorwaa tts 11
Rangers
January 7
Grenala
Pirates
ARUBA TRADING LEAGUE FOOTBALL
STANDINGS


Teams
La Fama 'B'
Voorwnarts II
B.G. 'B'
Pirates
Grenada
Rangers
Trinidad 'B'


K. B. Ross, works manager of the great Abadan
refinery In Persia. who visited here a year ago,
sent a Christmas greeting containing the picture
above. The tower is part of a crude topping unit,
with an unusual design in the overhead lines.
An Interesting feature of the tower Is the cooling
and condensing of overhead vapors by direct
contact with cooling water in the three horizon-
tal drums in the foreground.


Games Played
:3
2
3
4
5
3


Percentage
100

60
50
30
16.


0
0

it




0
1


u



ge
3


7


Seon Frederick of the Marine Depart-
ment's port steward section left Decem-
ber 8 on long vacation to Grenada via
Trinidad, his first visit there in eight
years. He worked his way as chief
steward on the tanker "de Golia".


II




;i









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JANUARY 17. 1947


vn^


ARUBA ESSO NEWS








ARUBA ESSO NEWS JANUARY 17, 1547


Dramatic Society Succeeds in First Try


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The Falcons bring the "South Seas" into San Nicolas.


The Falcon Dramatic Society put on
its first musical comedy at the B. I. A.
Hall December 16, a production so suc-
cessful that it was scheduled to be re-
peated last weekend in a larger hall at
the Surinam Club.
The four-act "Romance in Mandalay",
with a South Seas setting, was written
and produced by H. Stevenson of the
Storehouse. Elaborate costumes, music,
and a fanciful story put it in the true
musical comedy tradition.
In the picture above, left to right, are
Stella Oliver, Laundry; Eileen Williams
and William Houtman, Colony Service;
Marjorie Anderson, Plant Commissary,
Phillip Thorne, Training Division;
Vanisha Vanterpool, Laundry (President
of the Falcon Group); Vernon Morgan,
Electric Shop; Jose La Cruz, Plant Com-
missary; Evelyn Daniel, Hospital (at the
mike); Ashton Buckley, Colony Commis-
sary; Ashton Hicks (sitting) Ware-
house; Ewaldo Daniel (sitting), and
Freda Richardson; Irad Benjamin, Elec-
trical; Benson Douglas, Training Divi-


sion; J. Warner, Welding Shop; Gladys
Herbert, Lloyds Register; H. Toddman.
Warehouse; and E. De Coteau.
The Falcon group was organized about
a year ago, and now has 35 members.
Proceeds from their first production go
into a fund to build a clubhouse with a
library, gymnasium, and facilities for a
girl-orchestra.


Around tbe Plant
Jose Trappenberg of Personnel, who
hails from Curacao, spent the holidays
with friends there. He flew over the day
before Christmas and was back at work
January 2.
Morel Fortin, dispatch clerk in Per-
sonnel, dispatched himself on vacation
December 27, to be gone until March 8.
A Lagoite since 1936, he has not been
home to French St. Martin since then. On
the way to St. Martin (where he plans to
catch most of the fish and lobsters catch-
able) he plans to visit St. Kitts and St.
Bartholome.
Prince Samuel, on long vacation from
the Cold Storage Plant, spent the holi-
days in Grenada. He is due back
February 16.
Harry Marcus of the Drydock left tlhe
job January 2 for an eight-week vac-
ation.
Severa Bryson of the Hospital lett
December 21 for a seven-week vacation
at San Pedro di Marcoris, Sto. Domingo.
It is her first visit home in seven yeals.

Shown below are two groups that helped bring
Christmas cheer to Aruba. At left is a choir that
carried Yuletide songs to Lago Heights. San Nico-
las, and Essoville, and to the Lago Hospital on
Christmas morning. The group includes K. Edwards
E. Clark. L. Hamlett, E. E. Morris, D. H. London,
L. P. Sullivan, P. Thorne, M. Boatswain, I. Homer.
I. Heyilger, and A. L Lewis (the leader, at front
left).


9C II




j r BH


Sr.


Manuel Balanco's recent long vacation gave him
plenty of rest (the ESSO NEWS found him in
Curacao one weekend) but it had its strenuous
side too. He and Adrian Strang of L.O.F. are
holding up a 12-foot shark they caught near
Westpunt. (Third member of the fishing party
was Guillaume Kamperveen of Gas & Poly.)

Lawrence Aitcheson of Electrical left
January 4 for an eight-week vacation in
Jamaica.

The group at eight below portrayed the Birth of
Christ at the Methodist Church December 19.
Produced and directed by Mrs. Ruby Stevenson.
the pageant was given by the Wesley Guild to
raise funds for the now church building. In back,
I to r., are V. Bonnett. E. Connor, and A. Thomp.
son: center, J. Knight, G. Herbert, E. Daniels.
G. Thomas, S. Rairoop, R. Cato, and H. Tyson; In
front, E. Daniel, E. Brown, and L. Crichton.


A"


L1


The Wise Old Mouse
There were many mice living in a hole
in a kitchen. At first'they had a wonder-
ful life, because they could find plenty
of food in the kitchen. This didn't last
very long, though, for the owner of the
house brought a cat in the kitchen to
catch the mice, that were ruining all the
food. The cat was a very good mouse-
catcher and the mice couldn't come out
at all, out of fear of the cat's sharp
claws. Not even in the night could they
come out to find something to eat, with-
out putting their lives in danger. At last
they decided to have a meeting, to find
a way of getting rid of their enemy.
As soon as the meeting started, a
young mouse rose and said: "I know
what we must do. Let's tie a bell around
the cat's neck, then we can tell when he
is coming."
The other mice thought this a very
brilliant idea and they all clapped their
paws for it. In a corner sat a very old
mouse, in fact he was so old that the
other mice didn't mind him at all. When
the mice clapped he just laughed 'til he
shook. "What are you laughing about?"
they asked him.
"I just wonder", said the old wise
mouse, "which one of you will be the one
to tie the bell around the cat's neck".
No one answered.
"It's easier to say than to do," said the
old mouse and was he right!


EJRATON BIEUW SABI
Tabatin hopi raton ta biba den un hol
den un cushina. Na cuminzamento nan
tabatin masha bon bida, pasobra nan
tabata haya hopi cuminda. Pero esaki no
a dura largo, pasobra e dofio a busca un
pushi pa cohe e ratonnan cu tabata dis-
tribi tur su cuminda. E pushi tabata
masha lih4 y sabi, asina cu e ratonnan
no por a sali pa miedo di e pushi su
ufianan skerpi. Ni den scur nan no por a
sali busca cuminda sin pone nan bida na
peliger. Porfin nan a dicidi di tene un
reunion pa busca un moda di salba di
nan enemigo.
Asina cu reunion a cuminza un raton
chapalito di: "Ami sa kico nos mester
haci. Laga nos mara un bel na garganta
di e pushi, e ora nos por tende ora cu e
ta bin."
E otro ratonnan a haya esaki un idea
masha brillante y nan a bati man pa e
raton. Den hoeki tabatin un raton masha
bieuw, en berdad e tabata asina bieu.w cu
e otronan no tabata haci6 caso. Ora e
ratonnan a bati man el a cuminza hari te
sagudi. "Ta kico bo ta hari?" e otronan
a puntr4.
"Un cos so mi ke sa", e raton bieuw di,
"cua di boso la mara e bel na garganta
di e pushi?"
Ningun no a respond.
"Ta masha facil pa bisa, pero pa haci
ta e cos", e raton bieuw di, y raz6n a
sobr6.


PINTA UN PRENCHI -
Busca un potlood cu un punta skerpi sker-
pi, cuminzd pinta na e punta cu number I
banda di dje (caminda e flecha ta) y sigui
hala e lifia, siguiendo e numbernan: 1, 2, 3,
4, te na fin. Ora bo caba bo tin prenchi di
algo cu bo ta mira hopi na Aruba.




It. .a7



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'los
A 11112
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DRAW A PICTURE
'ake a pencil with a
,ery sharp point, start
at dot number I (see the
ulouw on the left side ')
and then iln., a line fol-
lowing tne numbered
dot 1 2. 3, -4. etc.
When you finish you'll
have a picture of onme-
thing >ou often .ee in
Aruba.


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JANUARY 17, 194T


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ARUBA ESSO NEWS


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